notes on italy, 7

and then i took an early morning train to florence. i met up with old friends, attended a wedding in the countryside, and ate as much as i could in 3 days.

4 things of note, pictured above:
1. palazzo strozzi just might be my favorite spot in florence. quiet, light-filled, beautiful … a place to sit or to see some art.
2. trattoria cibrèo was as good as i imagined it would be (…but tomorrow i’ll tell you about my favorite meal of the entire trip)
3. the food market of san ambrogio! wow.
4. i really enjoyed the area around santa croce for strolling. i stumbled upon a little studio space and the owner graciously let me snap some pics. the light was STUNNING.

This batch in particular is stunning. Inspiration-board material. Love the froth in the coffee cup…reminds me of my mother’s “toxic sludge” coffee which HAD to be cut with boiling water or milk. Not even my dad, who had a cast iron stomach, could drink it straight. Thanks for the reminder of that long-ago image.

Your photos capture everything I loved about Italy…I’d give ANYTHING to be back there right now… While I was there, I found myself wanting to freeze everything in my memory… Not only did I write a mini-book (the first time I have journaled successfully for any length of time), but 1 month in Italy equated to 3000 photos… Thank you so very much for sharing your work…it transports me back to one of the happiest times of my life!

I might have a tear in my eye – it’s probably just dust. *cough* Well, seeing as I….”used to live in” Via S.Spirito AND before that in S. Croce (sorry but it’s true!) I think I’m allowed to shed a little tear. You captured it, absolutely.

these are by far, my favorite groupings yet! i just spent 10 days in march in venice, rome, and florence and fell in love with florence the most. i am already scheming when i can return and your shots remind me of why i so love italy…thank you brian! :)

Brian, I love the Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio area too, did you eat at that lampredotto stall? Very delicious, my favourite lampredotto stall in Firenze! I don’t think you can get it outside Firenze. When I am there I like to have lunch in cibreo too, the staffs are always very sweet to me. And I love food shopping at Mercato di Sant’Ambrogio, better than Mercato Centrale, there is a particular salumi stand inside the market where I usually get my stuff. Did you go the la via del te’ in front of the market? They have wonderful tea there…well…you won’t probably need it, you live in London, lots of nice places to buy tea :) Anyway, beautiful photos of Firenze, love them!

I got back from computer issues to see all of your Italy pictures and they were all beautiful to look through. From 1 – 7, all of the pictures seem so alive and peaceful and vibrant. I’ve loved spending the past while looking through and catching up with your trip. It looks/sounds like you had a great time. Thank you so much for sharing.